The Unknown
by Invaderk
Summary: [JPLE][RHr]Short, sweet, but not so straight to the point.


A/N: Ah, this is slightly grim, with its humorous moments. This story is also slightly rushed, as you might notice, because it was one of those 'cant sleep tillI finish' ones. Anyway, I kind of like it, even though its not incredibly good.

Disclaimer: I own nothing... especially not Harry Potter

Happy Reading!

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**The Unknown**

James reclined in his lounge chair by the pool at the Potter Estate, a glass of lemonade in his hand. He surveyed the area carefully, making sure that everything was under control. Sirius was doing graceful, lazy laps in the beautiful in-ground pool while Remus sat on the side, his feet dangling in the water. James sighed; it was a hot day, and he was enjoying his moment of rest and relaxation.

Lily came outside from the kitchen, carrying a squirming one-year-old Harry in her arms. She set him down on the ground and he toddled over to Remus in his bathing suit, laughing. Remus smiled and grabbed Harry around the middle, then set Harry down beside him to put his feet in the water. Lily gave James a kiss on the cheek and straightened, brushing off her shirt.

"Your son is a menace," she said in exasperation, "All he wants is 'Daddy! Daddy!'"

James laughed softly and moved his feet so his wife could sit down. She shook her head and took his glass from him. She took a long sip and then handed it back to him, pausing to wipe the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

"It's hot," she said, brushing her hair off her shoulders in hope of catching a breeze on her neck.

Sirius swam over to the edge and pulled himself out of the pool.

"Come on in, Lily! The water is fabulous!" he exclaimed, "You could do with a break!"

"I can't, boys," she said, placing her hands on her hips, "Unlike the rest of you, I have work to do around the house."

Sirius shrugged and dunked his head under the water. He resurfaced and spit a jet of water from his mouth at her; it missed by a foot. Lily shook her head, chuckled, and walked into the house after running a hand through James' hair one last time. When she had disappeared, Sirius shook his head with a sigh.

"You're lucky, Prongs," he said with a sigh, "Beautiful wife, beautiful home, cute kid; what else could you want?"

James raised his glass and grinned, "Cheers!" he said, and took a swig.

Harry toddled across the pool deck and picked up his rubber ducky. He stepped his wobbly steps back over to the pool side and threw the duck in.

"Ducky!" he squealed, laughing again.

"That seems to be his favorite word," Remus commented, chortling.

"It's his _only_ word," James replied with a sigh, and the three men laughed.

Sirius heaved himself out of the pool and stretched.

"Moony, you need to get in there before we go, or you'll sweat to death," Sirius commented.

Remus gazed at him with unease.

"I don't like to swim," he said warningly, "You know that."

Sirius laughed and replied, "No, I know that you don't like to take off _that_." He pointed at Remus' graying shirt, "However, you shan't need to!"

Sirius suddenly stooped down and picked Remus up like a bride. Remus gave shouts of protest, but it was too late for him. Sirius tossed him into the pool with a roaring laughter. Harry gave a shout and laughed hysterically. Remus resurfaced, looking bitter. He glared at Sirius and then pulled himself out of the pool and back to where he was sitting.

"Feel better?" Sirius asked, barking with laughter along with James and Harry.

"Slightly," Remus said with the air of one who was enjoying a nice piece of cake.

James sighed and brought the glass to his lips again, suddenly somber as the smile faded off his face.

"This war isn't going well," James said, staring into space over the rim of his glass, "I mean, what happens if we die in this?"

Sirius gave a laugh like a bark and shook his head.

"We're not going to die!" Sirius exclaimed, shaking his head, "We're too bloody brilliant to die!"

Remus pursed his lips and sighed.

"Well, don't get too full of yourself," he said gravely, "You never know what will happen. We can only hope for the best at this point, and fight hard. Dumbledore won't let us down."

Harry, cackling madly, toddled over to the edge of the pool, lost his balance, and gave a shriek as he started to fall. Sirius reached out and grabbed Harry around the midriff and pulled him back. He ran a hand through Harry's hair affectionately before setting him back on the ground and giving him a nudge. Harry teetered over to James, who picked him up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Are you hungry, Harry?" he asked his son seriously.

"Ducky!" Harry exclaimed in reply, and James' face broke out into a grin.

"I thought so," James said, grinning, and stood up.

The men rose to join Lily in the kitchen. Remus clapped James on the shoulder as they stood and gave him a knowing look.

"Don't worry about the unknown, Prongs," Remus said as Sirius disappeared into the kitchen, carrying Harry, who was pulling his hair with joy, "We can only take it one day at a time."

"I know," James said in reply, "I just can't help it. I want to be there for Harry – always."

"You will be," Remus said with a grim smile, "You will be…"

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Harry put his hands behind his head and gazed out over the lake at the Burrow. The summer was warm and nice, but he had a dark lingering in his mind. The sun overhead was sending heat down in waves, helped along by the breeze, which gently touched their faces. Hermione looked up from her book and gave him a concerned book.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked concernedly, placing her book beside her and turning to face him better.

Harry gave a sigh as Ron ran past in his bathing suit. Ron gave a whoop and dove into the lake headfirst. He surfaced and spit out a stream of water, looking sickened.

"Come on in, you two!" he exclaimed, "The water tastes disgusting, but it feels bloody great!"

Harry and Hermione laughed and Ron walked out of the lake and over to them, dripping. He shook his head like a dog and his flaming red hair sent water in every direction. Hermione gave a small shriek and fell backwards, her hands over her face.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, laughing, and pulled Ron down beside her.

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed back in a mocking voice, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ron's you're getting me soaked!" she exclaimed, but Harry couldn't help but notice that she looked slightly pleased.

Ron looked as if he was about to tickle her or something, but he took a look at Harry and sobered up. He looked at his best friend with concern, water dripping down his body

"What's up, mate?" Ron asked, his smile fading from his lips.

Harry shrugged and replied, "The war's not going well."

Ron and Hermione shared a dark look before turning back to Harry.

"Everyone's doing what they can," Hermione said quietly.

"Yeah, including you." Ron interjected loudly.

Harry gave another sigh and stared out across the rippling lake. He raised his lemonade glass to his lips and took a small sip, then stared out over the brim of his glass and into space.

"I mean, what happens if we die in this?" he said quietly, not looking at his best friends.

Ron laughed out loud at this, but Hermione looked alarmed.

"We're not going to die!" he exclaimed, "We've got the best ruddy luck in the world!"

Hermione pursed her lips.

"Ron, don't get too ahead of yourself," she said warningly, "You never know what might happen."

She turned to Harry, who was now watching them with a curiously grave expression. She sighed and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"Still," she said slowly, "You don't need to dwell upon it, I'm sure we'll make it through this."

At that point, Mrs. Weasley stuck her head out the window and waved an arm.

"Come in, you three! Dinner's ready! And Ron, change out of those trunks before you truck water through the whole house! The twins have stopped by, and the place is packed full with wet-start fireworks!"

Ron sighed, and with one last glance at his friends, jumped up and ran into the house to change. Hermione jumped up, too, and started to the house. She turned around and watched Harry slowly clamber to his feet. He caught up to her and she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about the unknown, Harry," she said, "We can only live one day at a time."

Harry sighed and gave her an appreciative look.

"I know," he said, forcing a smile upon his face, "I just don't want to let you all down. I want to be there."

"You will be," Hermione replied with a grim smile, "You will be…"

_FIN_

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A/N: Tcheah, so I kind of like it. I like the first part better, just because I've wanted to write something like this for a while. 


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